1 month of Boxster ownership
10-30-2012, 12:17 AM
#1
1 month of Boxster ownership
I posted a little over a month ago about the 2007 Boxster I purchased. Just to refresh, it's a Boxster base in Carrara White with a black top and black interior. Options included the Preferred Package and Sport Wheel and when purchased the car had just under 6300 miles on it.
Just a little over a month later and I'm already approaching 8100 miles and my appreciation for the car is growing daily. What amazes me is that what is at first glance a really beautiful and excellent sports car is also really, really livable as a daily driver.
The standard seats are very comfortable and now that it's getting colder in the mornings the heated seats option from the preferred package is getting put to good use. I'm averaging 23.8 miles to the gallon and that's with several bouts of daily, spirited acceleration onto the divided 4 lane that leads into town towards my workplace. I make sure and hit 7k rpm at least once or twice a day!
The handling and road feel are of course sublime and I've never experienced a shifter that I liked better. Controlling the car is a great pleasure and that, more than anything, is why I purchased the Boxster to begin with. And I even went out and drove several really fine performance vehicles after I bought the Boxster so that I could be 100% sure! (More on that at the end of this)
Of course there are a few things that aren't perfect. I find the exhaust drones somewhat between 2k and 2500 rpm while under a certain amount of load. Also the wind noise in the cockpit gets noticeable at interstate speeds and of course if an 18 wheeler or other loud vehicle gets beside you you can forget having a conversation or listening to the radio for a few moments.
Those are pretty small tradeoffs, however, when the whole package is taken into consideration. In the last week or so I've driven a 2010 BMW 135i, a 2013 Subaru WRX, a 2012 VW GTI and before that a 2009 Mercedes SLK 350. None of those vehicles, although excellent in certain areas, provided the overall driving pleasure that the Boxster does. Especially in terms of the items the driver interacts with most when piloting a vehicle (wheel, pedals and shifter) the Boxster is easily the best. And the best looking also!
The BMW was rocketship fast and comfortable but the shifter and road feel were a step or two down as was the gas mileage. The WRX was also very quick but had noticeable turbo lag and the worst shifter feel I've ever experienced in a sports car. It did ride nicely though. The GTI was a surprise. For a front driver it's lots of fun to pilot and feels quicker than the specs would suggest but the shifter and road feel were still no competition to the Boxster. And finally the Mercedes was probably the quietest convertible I've experienced but was also completely boring to drive.
Anyway, I've rambled enough but will part with the thought that if you find yourself not appreciating your Porsche as much as you think you should then the cure for that would be to go drive other cars. And to say that I'm glad I bought the Boxster because the more I drive it the more amazing I find it. It really is a special car!
Just a little over a month later and I'm already approaching 8100 miles and my appreciation for the car is growing daily. What amazes me is that what is at first glance a really beautiful and excellent sports car is also really, really livable as a daily driver.
The standard seats are very comfortable and now that it's getting colder in the mornings the heated seats option from the preferred package is getting put to good use. I'm averaging 23.8 miles to the gallon and that's with several bouts of daily, spirited acceleration onto the divided 4 lane that leads into town towards my workplace. I make sure and hit 7k rpm at least once or twice a day!
The handling and road feel are of course sublime and I've never experienced a shifter that I liked better. Controlling the car is a great pleasure and that, more than anything, is why I purchased the Boxster to begin with. And I even went out and drove several really fine performance vehicles after I bought the Boxster so that I could be 100% sure! (More on that at the end of this)
Of course there are a few things that aren't perfect. I find the exhaust drones somewhat between 2k and 2500 rpm while under a certain amount of load. Also the wind noise in the cockpit gets noticeable at interstate speeds and of course if an 18 wheeler or other loud vehicle gets beside you you can forget having a conversation or listening to the radio for a few moments.
Those are pretty small tradeoffs, however, when the whole package is taken into consideration. In the last week or so I've driven a 2010 BMW 135i, a 2013 Subaru WRX, a 2012 VW GTI and before that a 2009 Mercedes SLK 350. None of those vehicles, although excellent in certain areas, provided the overall driving pleasure that the Boxster does. Especially in terms of the items the driver interacts with most when piloting a vehicle (wheel, pedals and shifter) the Boxster is easily the best. And the best looking also!
The BMW was rocketship fast and comfortable but the shifter and road feel were a step or two down as was the gas mileage. The WRX was also very quick but had noticeable turbo lag and the worst shifter feel I've ever experienced in a sports car. It did ride nicely though. The GTI was a surprise. For a front driver it's lots of fun to pilot and feels quicker than the specs would suggest but the shifter and road feel were still no competition to the Boxster. And finally the Mercedes was probably the quietest convertible I've experienced but was also completely boring to drive.
Anyway, I've rambled enough but will part with the thought that if you find yourself not appreciating your Porsche as much as you think you should then the cure for that would be to go drive other cars. And to say that I'm glad I bought the Boxster because the more I drive it the more amazing I find it. It really is a special car!
10-30-2012, 09:43 AM
#2
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Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
I recently drove a boosted WRX on some mountain roads and I was not impressed. The rear doesn't feel planted at speed and the road feel and feedback was average at best. My Speed3 had better feedback and crisper transitions. The car also felt very heavy, almost as if you had to force a change in direction. It didn't feel tossable. The clutch was incredibly heavy, one of the heaviest I have ever experienced in fact.
Like you whenever I drive another car I pay attention to every aspect of the car from handling to build quality and thus far nothing has compared with the Boxster. Judging by what I've been reading in other reviews and magazines I think even cars costing two/three times as much don't offer any real improvements.
What's interesting is that I never once bothered to read the Boxster/Cayman forums until I stumbled on a Spyder at a car show so I never knew how sublime they are and I suspect the vast majority of car enthusiasts fall into a similar situation as I.
Like you whenever I drive another car I pay attention to every aspect of the car from handling to build quality and thus far nothing has compared with the Boxster. Judging by what I've been reading in other reviews and magazines I think even cars costing two/three times as much don't offer any real improvements.
What's interesting is that I never once bothered to read the Boxster/Cayman forums until I stumbled on a Spyder at a car show so I never knew how sublime they are and I suspect the vast majority of car enthusiasts fall into a similar situation as I.